Mongar : Arriving in Mongar is welcome respite from the seemingly endless turn of the journey over the pass. The tourist hotel has a lawn and balcony where travelers can take a well earned break. The town is small with a sprinkling of shops. Mongar, like Tashigang further east, is built on the side of a hill instead of next to the river on the valley floor like other towns in the kingdom.

A secondary school is located above the Dzong and is worthwhile visiting. Resembling the large public school in northern India it also offers a splendid view over the surrounding valley.

The present Dzong is modern compared to others in the kingdom. It was built on the orders of the third King, Jigme Dorji Wang chuck. The Kurichu Hydroelectric project will change the industrial emphasis of the Monger area after it is complete before the turn of the millennium. When complete it will have the capacity to output 60 megawatts of hydroelectricity.

Tashigang : The road from Mongar passes the Yadi loops. For five miles the road creates figures of eight as it descends to the valley floor.

Arriving in Tashigang is momentous as it mars the end of a 547 kilometer drive from Thimphu. The town, also high up on a Mountain, is busier than any other Bhutanese town. Its proximity to Samdrup Jonkar in the south has enabled it to grow as a centre of commerce.

Tashigang is used as the market place for the hill people from Merak and sakteng wh are remarkable for theier exceptional features and for their cosatumes which is brighty coloured and different from customary Bhutanese clothing.

The 17th Century Dzong is built on top of a cliff on the edge of town. The views from the courtyards of the dzong are wonderful. From the parapets it is easy to see why the dzong was considered to be impregnable from invading armies. Until the recent opening of an administrative center in the dzong at Tshiyangtse, Tashigang was the center of all religious and secular activity for the region.

Tashiyangtse : A few kilometers north of Tashigang, Tashiyangtse Dzong is a half hour walk from the road. The monk body leaves the monastery during the winter for warmer surroundings. A town has developed around Chorten Kora, one of the only two temples built in a style prevalent in Nepal and the spot where Guru Rimpoche is believed to have had a vision that a temple and chorten would be built.

The South East and South West Bhutan : The road from Tashigang to Samdrup Jongkhr was completed in the early 1960s and enables the eastern half of the country to access and benefit from trade with the south as well as to cross the Indian border. It is possible to drive from Samdrup Jongkhar to Phuentsholing via the Indian territories of Assam and West Bengal.

There is little for travelers to see in this area but some visitors choose to use Samdrup Jongkhar as a more convenient exit town. The journey from Tashigang passes Pemagatshel, a newly created independent district with its own Dzong. The road descends fairly abruptly through thick jungle before arriving at Samdrup Jongkhar. This town is no more than a frontier post with couple of descent hotels and restaurants to wile away the time when the border is not open.

Phuentsholing in the south west is a bustling border town and can also be used as an exit point from Bhutan.